Aircraft propeller



June 1, 1948. B. v. HOLBER-TON AIRCRAFT PROPELLER Filed May 4, 1943 fl Wv &

W m 1 M m w A $3 Patented June 1, 1948 om TED srArE-s PATiE-N T OFF-l ca 2,442,691 AIRCRAFT meant-tn Bernard Victor Holberton, Cheltenham, England, assignor to Ro'tol Limited, a British company Application May 4,1943, SerialrNo.\485-,633 In Great'Britain March 24, 1942 Section 1; Public Law 690, neg tes- 1946 'Patent expires March 24;"1962 6 Claims. (01. 308 s) This invention concerns variable-pitch propellers of the kind described in the specification of British Patent No. 455,074in which the pitchclianging movements of the blades are effected by a. member mounted in front of the propellerhub and axially movable in relation thereto, said member being connected to the blades through sliding members which are guided in sleeves fixed in'the wall of the hub and are connected respectively' to'the axially movable member and to 'a crank-Qp'inon a blade-root. When the propeller is of the feathering type, the axially movable member has a relatively large axial travel to provide "the necessary angular movement of the blades, this requiring long guidesin the wall of the hub.

The object of this invention is to reduce the overall axial length of the propeller-hub and pitch-adjusting mechanism, and a further object is to provide a construction of guide assembly which will permit the axially movable member to be positioned closely adjacent to the hub at one end of its travel.

This invention accordingly consists in a propeller of the type above described wherein each sliding-member has secured on it a hollow sleeve arranged to slide within the guide in the wall of the hub; preferably, the said sleeve is adjustable axially relatively to the sliding member, and according to another feature of this invention the said sleeve may be adjustably secured at one end to the part connecting the sliding-member to the axially movable member, and also sup ported intermediate of its ends on the slidingmember itself.

A construction in accordance with this invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing which is an axial section through the lower half of a propeller hub embodying the invention. In the construction shown the pitch-adjustment of the blades is effected by a hydraulic ram eonstituted by a fixed piston it] carried on the propeller shaft II on the forward end thereof, with a double-acting hydraulic cylinder !2 which is movable relatively thereto axially of the propeller shaft.

Upon the hub l3 of the propeller there are mounted guide-members, one for each blade, consisting of tubes M disposed parallel with the axis of the shaft H and each having a bearing bush I5 in it and in each of them there is mounted a sliding member or crosshead l5 which is connected on one side by a rod I! to the hydraulic cylinder 12, and on the other side by a connecting rod"l8to"a crank pinl9 on'the' root-end 2d of a blade of the propeller.

The -rod II connecting the sliding-member to the hydraulie cylinder is screw=threaded to receive'arnut'fl' against which a flange 22 on the cylinder abuts, and also" screw-threaded at its outer end to'receivaa second'nut 23 by which the flange 22 is secured to the rod l1, and by adjust ment of these 'twonuts' ll and23'on the red,

the requisite accurate setting of the cylinder i2 in its axial'tmovenient'withrespect to the angular position 'ofthe crank p'in' l9 'on the blade is easily effected. Adockmut 24 "is provided to lock the nut2 tin its'correctsetting.

A'sleeve or hollow guide-25 surrounds the crossheadancl'is aslidin'gfit in the'bush'l 5 of the fixed guide in the propeller-hub, and it is also made a close fit on the cross-head l6 itself which lies intermediate the ends of this sleeve. The sleeve 25 is secured to the cross-head by means of two nuts 26 and 21 screwed on to the cylinder-rod aforesaid, so as to grip between them an inturned flange or projection 28 on the sleeve, thereby rigidly fastening it to the rod l1, and to the cross-head so that, by its bearing in the hubguide it constitutes a suitable guide for the crosshead.

The length of this sleeve 25 may be substantially greater than that of the hub-guide ld-IE so that in the full range of movement of the cylinder, the crosshead l6 proper may move beyond the ends of the hub-guide without impairing the lateral constraint required to guide it in its movement; the sleeve 25 is made of such an internal diameter as to permit the obliquity of the coupling rod 18 which arises at the two ends of its stroke.

With this arrangement the cylinder flange 22 may approach closely to the end of the hub-guide |4l5 at one end of its stroke, and, when it is at the other or outer end of its stroke, the cylinder-rod l1 and the nuts 2| and 21 on it are readily accessible for making adjustments. In order to adjust the position of the sleeve 25 with respect to the crosshead IS the nut 26 inside the guide-sleeve is pinned thereto by a pin 29 so that rotation of the sleeve will adjust the nut 26 on the cylinder-rod. The sleeve is provided with flats 30 by which it may be turned.

The other end of the sleeve has an outwardlyturned flange 3| adapted to bear against the fixed guide l4-l5 so as to limit the forward travel of the cylinder. This end position may be feathered position of the blades and the adjustment abovedescribed enables very accurate setting of the ber.

blades to be effected, even after the propeller is installed on the engine-shaft.

It will be seen that by the provision of the additional guide-sleeve as described above, the length of the hub-guide may be substantially reduced, thereby enabling a considerable reduction to be made in the overall axial length of the propeller-hub and the blade-actuating mechanism, and this reduction in length, together with the consequent reduction in weight which is all overhanging weight on the particularly advantageous.

Iclaim: 1. In combination, a movable member, a guide,"

a sliding member coupled to said movable mempropeller shaft, is

her and slidable in said guide; a hollow sleeve receiving said sliding member and fixed with respect thereto and interposed between said sliding member and said guide, said sleeve axially adjustable relatively to said sliding member and means to secure said sleeve against movement after adjustment. r

2. In combination, a motor having a movable member, a movable follower to be adjusted by'sai'd movable member, a guide, a sliding member coupled to said follower and having a part coupled to said movable member, a sleeve adjustably secured at one end portion tosaid part and supported intermediate its ends on said sliding mem- 3. In a connecting rod coupling, the combination of an axially movable rod, 2. cross -head thereon, a stationary guide for said cross head of a length less than the maximum travel of said cross head, a second rod pivoted on said cross head, a sleeve secured on said first named rod rodand engaging opposite sides of said inturned portion, one of said nuts being within said sleeve and fast thereto and rotatable and adjustable by the act of rotating said sleeve.

6. The combination of claim 2, wherein said sleeve has an out-turned flange adapted to engage an end of said guide to limit the movement of the parts in one direction.

BERNARD VICTOR HOLBERTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,806,325 Wooden May 19, 1931 1,862,235 Morris June '7, 1932 2,156,102 Austin Apr. 25, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 455,044 Great Britain Oct. 8, 1936 538.621 Great Britain Au 11. 1941 

